Olsen suffered a fractured skull Tuesday and was in critical condition Wednesday. On Thursday, he was upgraded to fair condition and moved from the emergency room to the intensive care unit, according to a hospital spokesman.

“It’s just so damn ironic,” said George Nygaard, Olsen’s uncle. “To do two tours over there and not a scratch. All of a sudden he comes back here and a damn cop hits him with a projectile. It’s crap.”

The hospital confirmed Olsen’s condition. Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said an internal review board and local prosecutors have been asked to determine whether officers on the scene used excessive force.

snip

Olsen was discharged in 2010. In July, he moved to Daly, Calif., where he’s a systems analyst at OPSWAT, a San Francisco IT firm.

He became active in the antiwar movement when he returned.

Nygaard spoke with his nephew just a few nights ago when the two talked about the Occupy San Francisco movement that Olsen has been a part of. Nygaard told him to be careful but was shocked when he heard that Olsen had been injured.

Watching video of the incident makes Nygaard sick.

“There was no riot going on. I don’t think they had to be that aggressive,” Nygaard said. “I don’t understand it.”

His mother, Sandy Olsen, was told that the protesters were moving bike racks to separate themselves from the police when the altercation happened.

snip

Olsen was dedicated to the Occupy movement, working at his job during the day and joining the protest at night, Shannon said.

“In the last three weeks, he’s only been home a couple of nights,” Shannon said. “He’s been dedicated to this even though he has a good job, just trying to support the movement even though he’s not directly affected.”

Dottie Guy, also a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, has been at the hospital since Tuesday night. She’d met Olsen only a few months ago but said he is always smiling, always positive.

“We’re running on hopes and dreams right now,” Guy said. “We’re all standing by and hoping he pulls through.”

Nygaard said he’s optimistic about his nephew’s recovery and hopes some good can come out of this.

“He’s a brilliant kid,” Nygaard said. “I’m more proud of what he’s done since he’s been out than when he was in.”

There was a sailor (in full uniform) right at the bike guard line, to the left of the officer (he hand his arms up, holding a small black object (book, camera?) in one hand. I think he turned away first from the slo mo. So maybe he got a good look at the officer.

We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%.

We propose a city wide general strike and we propose we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.

All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.

While we are calling for a general strike, we are also calling for much more. People who organize out of their neighborhoods, schools, community organizations, affinity groups, workplaces and families are encouraged to self organize in a way that allows them to participate in shutting down the city in whatever manner they are comfortable with and capable of.

The whole world is watching Oakland. Let’s show them what is possible.

The Strike Coordinating Council will begin meeting everyday at 5pm in Oscar Grant Plaza before the daily General Assembly at 7pm. All strike participants are invited. Stay tuned for much more information and see you next Wednesday.

U.S. protesters call for strike against Oakland | Reuters

An Iraq war veteran hospitalized after being badly wounded in clashes between anti-Wall Street protesters and Oakland police had his condition upgraded on Thursday as activists called for a general strike against the California city.

Former U.S. Marine Scott Olsen, 24, was upgraded from critical to fair condition overnight, a spokeswoman for Highland General Hospital in Oakland said.

Friends said Olsen was breathing on his own and could undergo surgery in the next day or so.

Occupy Oakland organizers said they had voted to stage the strike next week, intending to shut down the city following what a spokeswoman called the "brutal and vicious" treatment of protesters including former U.S. Marine Scott Olsen.

Olsen has become a rallying cry for the Occupy Wall Street movement nationwide.

"We mean nobody goes to work, nobody goes to school, we shut the city down," organizer Cat Brooks said. "The only thing they seem to care about is money and they don't understand that it's our money they need. We don't need them, they need us."

Scott Olson,
It has come to our attention that you have been critically injured by the Oakland Police Department for standing up for the American peoples’ First Amendment Rights. The honor and courage you have displayed on the battlefield is only overshadowed by the cowardice and dishonor displayed by those who have committed these inhumane crimes against you.
As you stand in solidarity with the people of the world, Anonymous stands in solidarity with you Scott. A bullet to the head of our brother is a bullet to the head of us all. We may not share the physical pain and hardships you are enduring, but know that we feel the emotional turmoil that comes along with this injury that being inflicted on you has been inflicted on all free Americans.
You are a veteran of foreign war, a brave soldier who has stood up for his people in the face of death in a strange land. Whether our presence in the Middle East is justified or not, we commend those brave men and women who defend our Constitutional rights from enemies, both foreign AND domestic. In standing your ground in Oakland you have become one of the few Americans who have done BOTH.
For your efforts we will not give you an award or medal; these tokens are meaningless. For your efforts we will bestow upon you the highest honor a man could receive, the love and solidarity of your fellow free men and women around the world. You have shown us that freedom of speech comes with a price, and how to stand firm in the face of tyranny.
From Anonymous and free people of the world;
we love you and hope you get well very soon.

Seems to me injured enemy combatants in a foreign theater of war get more medical consideration from the American military than this injured American peaceful protester got from an American police force. I don't get that. Not only did other protesters have to deliver first aid, they were actively prevented from doing so by the police and then

As Occupy Wall Street protesters continued to rally in Oakland, Calif., hackers today targeted the Web site for the city's police department and offered a $1,000 reward for information on police action that appears to have left a protester injured.

Contact information, schedules, badge numbers, and other information about Oakland Police Department officers was posted to a public Pastebin page. Meanwhile, the department's Web site also was down temporarily this morning, according to SC Magazine.

"The time has come to retaliate against Oakland police via all non-violent means, beginning with doxing (releasing of documents and data) of individual officers and particularly higher-ups involved in the department's conduct of late," a statement on the Pastebin page said.

Asked for comment, Oakland Police Department spokeswoman Johnna Watson told CNET that the department was looking into the matter.

Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan (At-Large) issued the following statement in response to recent events involving protesters and police action taken in Oakland:

"My thoughts and prayers today are with Corporal Scott Olsen, a veteran of the United States Marines – and I pray for his speedy recovery.

The head injury that Scott Olsen suffered, and deployment of dangerous projectiles, absolutely should never have happened – and I am committed to preventing such harms from happening again.

Next Thursday, the Oakland City Council will convene a special meeting to discuss these incidents and to evaluate next steps moving forward.

As Oakland’s citywide councilmember, I will be proposing to re-clarify city policy so that we do not allow the firing of dangerous projectiles into crowds of peaceful protesters.

Oakland should have learned its lesson in 2003, when antiwar protesters and bystanders at the Port of Oakland were injured by police projectiles. Former Police Chief Richard Word at that time announced stricter guidelines for use of force against demonstrators. The United Nations spoke out against excessive force and the City of Oakland paid out more than $2 million in settlement payments to injured demonstrators.

As is too often the case, those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them.

We must learn from, and act to, prevent this type of incident from taking place.

Like so many of the 99%, I am appalled that big Wall Street banks have destroyed our nation’s economy, robbed so many of their life savings, engaged in deceptive lending and unjust foreclosures and stripped from people the hope they had for the American Dream.

And I have long argued that we must go after these big banks for their abuses.

That’s why I directed the City of Oakland, through legislation adopted in May, to begin levying fines of $1,000 per property each day that one of these banks leaves blighted a home that they’ve taken from an Oakland family.

As I’ve worked on this anti-foreclosure legislation, I’ve shared the frustration of so many people who took action peacefully to make sure that the world hears a very clear message: we won’t sit idly by and watch corporate malfeasance tear apart the hope of our communities and deny people jobs and economic opportunity.

We must seek a future of peace, justice and shared prosperity – including respect for free speech and prevention of harm to the public.

I look forward to discussing my proposal on preventing the excessive use of force and hearing others’ ideas as we move forward. You can join this discussion at the Special City Council Meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 3rd in the Council Chambers of Oakland City Hall, located at 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612."

(speaking to protesters, not exact quote) It isn't brave to throw a punch, it is brave to take a punch. When you throw a punch you lose the moral high ground.
**
TYTs will be at Occupy Oakland for the general strike.